Henry Blake’s powerful debut feature tells the disturbing tale of a teenager drawn into a nightmarish world of criminality
“You know what the ‘acceptable loss’ of your business is?” a social worker asks a teenager caught in Britain’s brutal “county lines” drug-trafficking business: “You.” That’s a message that rings loud and clear through this impassioned debut feature from writer-director Henry Blake, an alarming yet compassionate portrait of a headline-grabbing scandal that combines the warm artistry of a coming-of-age picture with the cold, hard truths of a public information film.
Conrad Khan is Tyler, a disconsolate and somewhat hesitant 14-year-old whose mum, Toni (Ashley Madekwe), seems caught in a cycle of emotional and financial instability. After being bullied by older boys at a local cafe, Tyler thinks he’s found a potential protector in the shape of the enigmatic Simon. Brilliantly played by the versatile Harris Dickinson (unrecognisable from his breakthrough role in Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats), Simon initially has the air of a tougher older brother, taking Tyler for a spin in his car and teaching him that it’s his duty to “be the man of the house” – to take care of business at home. Soon, Tyler is “running errands” for Simon, profitable but perilous work involving packages and train journeys, sold with empty promises of safety.